2017 Detroit 250SX Results
Monster Energy Supercross made its annual visit to the Motor City of Detroit, Mich., for the sixth round of the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship. The slick track surface provided an additional challenge for the riders that made for plenty of great racing.
After race-long battling, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Jordon Smith earned his first-career 250SX victory. Joining Smith on the podium were Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Joey Savatgy and Adam Cianciarulo, respectively.
The Main Event commenced with Cianciarulo grabbing the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot. Behind, a number of riders got caught in a pileup including Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne. Cianciarulo led the first lap and was followed in close pursuit by Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis, Savatgy, and KTM 250 SX-F pilot Smith.
At the end of the first lap, Ferrandis and Savatgy both passed Cianciarulo. On the beginning of the second lap, Savatgy drag raced Ferrandis up the start straight and was able to pass the French rider and inherit the lead. Cianciarulo passed Ferrandis back on the same lap to move into second behind his teammate. As all of this was happening, Smith closed the gap making it a four-way battle for the lead.
On lap three, Cianciarulo crashed, and Ferrandis and Smith went by. But Cianciarulo was able to remount in fourth. While leading the race on lap five, Savatgy gave up the lead to Ferrandis after having a small tipover. Ferrandis led for eight laps before Smith and Savatgy passed him for the top two positions on lap 13. Despite pressure from Savatgy in the closing laps, Smith led the remainder of the race to take his first career victory.
“Today was pretty incredible,” said Smith. “Despite having to go through the LCQ (Last Chance Qualifier) I was able to get a good start in the main and race with the leaders early on. The track was really tough so I just focused on hitting my lines and was in the right position on the last lap to take the win. It’s an amazing feeling and I can’t wait to celebrate with everyone!”
Savatgy’s second place finish in Detroit gave him the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship lead with nine points over Detroit winner, Jordon Smith.
“The points lead is good, but frustrated for sure because that win was within my grasp,” said Savatgy. “In the main, I put myself in position and had a little gap in the lead and made a mistake. Once I got back into my groove, I caught back up and almost won. So my speed there is encouraging and we’re really happy to leave with the points lead.”
Cianciarulo rounded out the final podium spot in third after passing Ferrandis with only two laps to go.
“I feel good with the result after not getting much riding in this week with my knee injury last week,” said Cianciarulo. “I put myself in a good position tonight and coming out of here we are optimistic as we closed the points gap. Couldn’t be more excited to have a shot at the championship and it’s looking like this thing will go down to Vegas.”
Entering points leader Osborne was able to return to the race, but ultimately finished 18th and relinquished the points lead to Savatgy. Osborne is third and 10 points back of Savatgy.
“It was a tough night,” said Osborne. “I felt good all day and was felt great on the track. I got a really good jump in my heat race, but just didn’t get around the first turn very well. In the main I thought I would go a bit wider and then absolutely crushed the start, but then someone came from the outside and we went down and their footpeg went through my spokes so I had to do a pit stop. I’m going to regroup and focus on next week’s race in St. Louis.”
Ferrandis, Autotrader/JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Kyle Cunningham, Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Mitchell Harrison, GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig, Kissimmee Motorsport’s Gannon Audette, Venex/MTF/Yamaha’s Anthony Rodriguez, and Traders Racing Yamaha’s Luke Renzland rounded out the top ten, respectively.
The series now heads April 1 to The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis for round 13.
2017 Detroit 250SX Results, Supercross Round 12:
- Jordon Smith – KTM 250SX-F
- Joey Savatgy – Kawasaki KX250F
- Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki KX250F
- Dylan Ferrandis – Yamaha YZ250F
- Kyle Cunningham – Suzuki RM-Z250
- Mitchell Harrison – Yamaha YZ250F
- Christian Craig – Honda CRF250R
- Gannon Audette – Kawasaki KX250F
- Anthony Rodriguez – Yamaha YZ250F
- Luke Renzland – Yamaha YZ250F
- Lorenzo Locurcio – Yamaha YZ250F
- Jesse Wentland – Honda CRF250R
- Joshua Cartwright – Yamaha YZ250F
- Henry Miller – Yamaha YZ250F
- Paul Coates – Yamaha YZ250F
- Zack Williams – Yamaha YZ250F
- Keith Tucker – Yamaha YZ250F
- Zach Osborne – Husqvarna FC250
- Jeremy Smith – Yamaha YZ250F
- Jerry Robin – Yamaha YZ250F
- Gradie Featherstone – Yamaha YZ250F
- Dakota Alix – KTM 250SX-F
2017 250SX Point Standings (Eastern Regional)
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 124
- Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., KTM – 115
- Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 114
- Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 113
- Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha – 86
- Christian Craig, Corona, Calif., Honda – 65
- Luke Renzland, Hewitt, N.J., Yamaha – 61
- Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM – 60
- Anthony Rodriguez, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha – 58
- Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha – 52
